On Wednesday, Goodwill of North Central Wisconsin (Goodwill NCW) celebrated the first seven interns to graduate from its Project SEARCH site at Aspirus Rhinelander Hospital. Project SEARCH is a nine-month program that prepares people with disabilities to enter the workforce. The national program has a local presence in Rhinelander, thanks to a partnership with Goodwill NCW, Aspirus Health, the School District of Rhinelander, the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation, TMG, Lakeland Care and Inclusa. The program is built to provide direct experience that is transferrable to jobs and culminates in a graduation ceremony, after which participants seek employment in the community. The Rhinelander Project SEARCH program is a hybrid site, welcoming both students referred by the School District of Rhinelander and other local school districts, and adults enrolled with the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation. While participating in Project SEARCH, the interns rotate through various departments within the hospital to gain hands-on skills that will help them in their future employment. The hospital setting provides a variety of different job experiences. Interns may help the facilities team, the gift shop, the cafeteria or the nursing staff. Nationally, 73.2 percent of those who participated in Project SEARCH in 2020-21 secured employment after completing the program. Pictured (from left to right) in the back row are: Leigha Plehn, job developer with Goodwill NCW; graduates Hannah Karstedt, Emily Tinsman, Jon Hackner, Jack Kunelius and Miguel Gonzalez and Project Search instructor Rod Olson. In the front row are graduates Courtney Barrows and Angelina Calix.
Comments:
You must login to comment.